US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine, and suggested a trilateral meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could take place.
"We had a great conversation. He is wanting to make a deal, and if Zelenskyy is wanting to make a deal, that'd be very nice," Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One for Dallas, where he is attending the Republican National Convention.
Asked what was preventing an agreement, Trump pointed to tensions between the two leaders.
"The holdup is two people that hate each other. I think more than anything else, it's two people that hate each other," he said.
Asked whether he would try to arrange a trilateral meeting, Trump replied: "It could happen. We had a good conversation. It could happen. Too many people are dying in that war: 25,000 last month."
Trump spoke with Putin on Tuesday following recent US diplomatic efforts involving talks in Moscow and Kyiv.
The conversation took place after special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the Russian and Ukrainian capitals on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, for talks with the leadership of both countries.
